Wiccan Church of Minnesota News

News sources and articles of interest to the Wiccan Community at large

Thursday, July 01, 2004

4th Circuit tosses order barring religious group's fliers

By The Associated Press
07.01.04
"RICHMOND, Va. - An evangelical group's plan to distribute fliers to students in two Montgomery County, Md., elementary schools does not amount to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, a divided federal appeals court ruled yesterday.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a judge's ruling blocking the Child Evangelism Fellowship's access to the Montgomery schools' take-home flier program. The court sent the matter back to U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte of Greenbelt, Md., for further proceedings.

Messitte's ruling barred CEF from giving literature to students at Mill Creek Towne Elementary School in Rockville and Clearspring Elementary School in Damascus. The materials, to be taken home to parents, invited students to attend Good News Club meetings, which offer Bible lessons and other religious activities after school"

Full Story at firstamendmentcenter.org: news:

Link Posted by WiCoM : 6:02 PM

Ritual sex 'victim' stands by claim

Ritual sex 'victim' stands by claim

June 30, 2004 13:52

"A WOMAN who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a couple during 'quasi-satanic rituals' has denied her allegations were complete 'hocus pocus'.

The woman told a jury at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday that she had been interested in witchcraft.

But she denied drawing on her own experiences of witchcraft and Satanism to add credence to her claims against David Stalford, 56, and his 55-year-old wife, Bette.

The woman said she had classed herself as a witch in the past, but was now a pagan, which she defined someone who believed in taking care of nature and worshipping it."

Full Story at Evening Star - Lively, Loyal, Local:

Link Posted by WiCoM : 10:30 AM

** WEBSITE UPDATE: News posting and RSS feed

News from the webmaster:

In the effort to make the Wiccan Church of Minnesota web site a more enjoyable experience for all of our members and also visitors to the site I have added a way to include links to external news sources of interest to the general pagan community and also make announcements that would be available to the general public.

If anyone would be interested in contributing to the project you can contact the webmaster at webmaster@wiccanchurchmn.org with the subject line WiCoM News Project for more details

Link Posted by WiCoM : 10:22 AM

'Ridiculous' law gaining national attention

"A Pender County North Carolina woman who says she was forced to choose between her boyfriend and her job has taken her story to the national media.
Under a North Carolina law it's illegal to live with someone you're not married to, and the Pender County Sheriff's Department is enforcing that. "

WECT TV6 & WECT.com - Wilmington, NC news and weather

Link Posted by WiCoM : 9:56 AM

Star-Telegram | 05/18/04 | Unitarian group denied tax status

AUSTIN - Unitarian Universalists have for decades presided over births, marriages and memorials. The church operates in every state, with more than 5,000 members in Texas alone.

But according to the office of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a Denison Unitarian church isn't really a religious organization -- at least for tax purposes. Its reasoning: the organization "does not have one system of belief."

Full story

Link Posted by WiCoM : 9:46 AM

KRT Wire | 05/17/2004 | Texas official says Unitarian church not a tax-exempt religion

Link Posted by WiCoM : 9:41 AM